Che Sehyun Receives Neddy Artist Award!
From article written by National Juror ClaireTancons: http://www.cornish.edu/news/release/christopher_paul_jordan_and_che_seh…
Christopher Paul Jordan and Che Sehyun as the recipients of this year’sNeddy Artist Awards, each of whom will receive an unrestricted grant of $25,000. In her summary of her selections, Tancons pointed that Jordan in painting and Sehyun in open medium bring a “multicultural savvy” to their work through a deep connection to their heritage and the youth in their communities.
“Both Chris Jordan and Che Sehyun, in their respective categories of Painting and Open Medium, are streaming cultural data from repurposed diasporic memories capable of emitting heretofore unfelt frequencies in their work and into the communities they form and foster through strong translocal networks,” she said after reviewing the artists’ work in their studios.
“Che Sehyun shapes live and recorded performances as a mode of public address directed as much to immediate relatives as to the extended family of youths he inspires and nurtures, producing a soft brand of conscious hip hop in the process,” Tancons continued. “Awarding the Neddy to these artists is an early recognition of artistic talent honed through multicultural savvy as well as an investment into promising futures with repercussions both within and beyond Seattle.”
Of Korean descent, Che Sehyun is a self-taught musician, filmmaker, and photographer. He is currently working on the G’ma Project, a multi-cultural and -generational community movement to honor our elders (our “g’mas” or grandmothers) and raise awareness of indigenous ancestry and culture—“the mind before time” as he puts it in his lyrics—through contemporary media such as music video, rap, and break dancing. The project includes a G’ma music video/documentary as well as the G’ma Project Mixtape (gmaproject.com). Che is also the founder of a youth arts non-profit called Experience Education, which offers area youth arts and cultural based education, experiences and life skills. The recipient of a 2016 Artist Trust Fellowship and grants from 4 Culture and the City of Seattle, Che graduated from the University of Washington in 2011 with a B.A., B.A., and B.S. in English, Comparative History of Ideas, and Physiology.
Che Sehyun, '11, English (B.A.), Physiology (B.S.), Comparative History of Ideas CHID (B.A.), is the 2017 Neddy Artist Award Winner, Painting-Open Medium. Some of his work is featured in "New Art from the Pacific Northwest: The 21st Annual Neddy Artist Awards Exhibition" at studio e in Georgetown. Included are details about his gallery performance on Saturday, February 24.